The Protector
by Lyrical Rex
Summary: Dramaverse 02. Ryu has trouble hiding something from Hayato. More specifically, he has trouble hiding his crush on Takeda. BL of the rare Ryu/Take variety. WIP.
1. Chapter 1

Well hello there, Gokusen fandom. This is drama series 2, rare enough without splitting Akame up. But I hope you like it. If I don't get at least a couple reviews, I'll take it as a no-go and won't continue posting this here. So if you like it, please do review.

Summary: Ryu has trouble hiding something from Hayato. More specifically, he has trouble hiding his crush on Takeda.

* * *

**The Protector**

* * *

Takeda had that annoyingly cute way of saying _Hayato_ that made Ryu jealous that his name wasn't long enough to be drawn out the same way. Takeda was just annoyingly cute, with his bleached hair done up with pins or hair bands, his small frame, even the way he cocked his head and smiled was cute! How, _how_ could a boy (a class 3-D boy, mind you!) be so unbearably cute?

"Ne, Ryu, _Ha-ya-to_! Let's go to the arcade!" Takeda suggested to the leaders of their group. He squeezed between them and threw an arm over each one's shoulders. He was short enough that the other two had been pulled downward to accommodate for his height. Takeda wasn't extremely heavy, but the extra weight was uncomfortable on the neck.

"Alright, alright Take," Hayato said with a grin, "Now will you let go? You're breaking my neck."

The shorter boy did did, so the taller two could straighten out their backs. He skipped ahead of them, the tan purse hanging from his belt loops flopping against the back of his leg. Ryu shook his head and grinned at Takeda's immaturity. "Ne, Tsucchi! Hyuuga! I want a turn on the bicycle!" He chased after their two other friends, who wobbly doubled on a borrowed bicycle. Hyuuga stood on the foot bars and playfully swatted at Takeda, off-putting the balance even further.

"Stop it!" Tsuchiya said, looking over his shoulder. "We're going to—"

They crashed. Right into a lamp post. "I'm sorry!" Takeda apologized profusely. "Are you okay?"

"I've felt worse," Tsuchiya groaned. "Hyuuga, get your fat ass off of me." Ryu and Hayato rushed forth to help them put the bicycle upright.

"Sho's going to be mad we dented it," Hayato pointed out. "He was reluctant to let us borrow it in the first place."

"If _borrowing_ is the word," Ryu muttered.

"Well, well, well," a deep voice said behind them. They turned to see a blue clad Ara High student. Five of them. "If it isn't kids from Kurogin 3-D. How are you doing, Yabuki? Odagiri?"

"Shibuya? Get lost," Ryu snarled. "We beat you last time. Care for another beating?"

"Ha," the Ara High punk laughed. "Last I checked, the score was in our favor. Twenty to ten or something like that?"

"You wish!" Hayato scoffed. "You want to settle the score right here, right now?" He cracked his knuckles in his fist. Tsuchiya and Hyuga jumped up off the ground, and each picked out an Ara High student to face head to head. Takeda gulped as he stood in front of a taller boy; Ryu clapped his hand on Takeda's shoulder and pushed him slightly behind.

"Nah, right here's not climactic enough," the leader replied. "Come to our gym tomorrow at four. Or do you not want us to smash your pretty faces?"

"We'll be there," Hayato snarled before Shibuya even finished. "Right Ryu?"

"Right." Ryu made a small motion with his head. "Let's go."

As the five of them walked away, the Ara high students jeered behind them.

* * *

"This situation with Ara has been getting worse and worse," Hayato complained to his friends later on. He picked up his cue and aimed it at the shooter ball. "It's been dragging long enough. We should wrap it up before graduation this year."

"Yeah," Ryu agreed with a brief nod. He glanced at Takeda, who nervously rubbed cue chalk on the tip of his own cue. He was still a little pale, Ryu noticed, and his eyes were shifty and distracted.

"Well," Tsuchiya pronounced loudly. "We should be off to take back Sho's bike. We'll see you tomorrow."

"And we'll beat those Ara High bastards," Hyuuga added, mock saluting Ryu and Hayato. "Bye bye!"

The other three stayed to shoot pool for another half hour or so. "Take," Hayato began. "You're turn."

"What? Oh." Takeda snapped out of his thoughts and took a shot, sinking the black number eight ball into a corner pocket.

"It's not the end of the game yet!" Hayato sighed exasperatedly. "Look, we've still got two solids and one stripe left!" He pointed a finger at the offending balls.

"… Sorry," Takeda muttered, yawning and pushing the heel of his palm at his eye. "I'm a little tired."

"Let's go home," Ryu suggested. "It's late for a school night." He didn't need to look to see the relieved look on Takeda's face; he never would have suggested it himself.

Hayato stretched his hands upwards. "It is late, huh. Fine, let's get out of here."

* * *

It kind of reminded Ryu of junior high school days, before they met Tsuchiya and Hyuuga, and Takeda had started becoming closer friends with him and Hayato. Even back then the two of them were close friends, but Takeda wasn't an unwelcome addition to their group. He had a way of making things more entertaining. Or wasn't it that he started out as Ryu and Hayato's gofer? Either way, it didn't matter, not now.

At the fork in the road where Ryu usually turned right, he stuck around with Takeda and Hayato and walked them to their respective apartment buildings. After Hayato bid them good night, Ryu and Takeda walked the rest of the way to Takeda's building in relative silence.

Then Ryu asked, "Are you worried?"

Takeda whipped his head towards the other boy. "Of course I'm not!" he scoffed. "Why would I be? I mean, class 3-D has some of the best fighters in town! We have you, we have Hayato…"

Ryu didn't want to press it. "Okay well, good night. If I don't get home soon, my dad's going to kill me, so…"

As he turned to leave, Takeda reached out and pulled Ryu's jacket. "Ryu," his voice quavered. "I _am_ worried. I'm scared, I'm petrified." Ryu turned again to face Takeda as the bleached blond boy continued his rant. "I mean, look at me! I'm small and weak and puny. And you know, the head teacher has been threatening us with expulsion so much! I don't want to be expelled, Ryu. My mom didn't even think I'd make it to where I am, but now we're so close to graduating. I don't want you to be expelled either. Or Hayato or Tsucchi or Hyuuga!"

By now, tears were welling in his eyes and he was shaking. Without a thought, Ryu reached out and pulled Takeda closer to him, so that Takeda was pressed with his arms trapped between his own body and Ryu's. Takeda couldn't move except to bury his face further in the other's jacket. Ryu felt overtly aware of the boy in his arms as he tilted his head down to whisper comfortingly (he hoped) in Takeda's ear. "Sh, Take. It's okay. Don't worry about it. Leave the problem to me."

* * *

Ryu didn't come to school the next day until lunch time. "It's over," he told Hayato when he came into the classroom.

"What's over?" Hayato asked, brow furrowing.

"Ara High." Ryu was more than aware of the whole class staring at him. Even the graffitied creatures sprayed on the classroom walls leered at him. "It's over. I bowed to them."

"What?" Hayato asked again. "_What?_" His voice raised even louder. He stood up and pushed his desk to the side in temper. He grabbed Ryu by his jacket and tossed him into the podium at the front of the room. "Why did you bow down to them?"

Ryu sighed and looked away. "Because a duel is stupid," he explained boredly. He walked away from Hayato.

"Stupid?" Hayato was incredulous. "Don't talk nonsense!" Then he grabbed Ryu by the shoulders and punched his face. As Ryu got to his feet, Takeda and Tsucchi and Hyuuga were in his face, telling him to stop, but he was so furious he just turned around and hit Hayato right back.

* * *

That day he was expelled.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey again. It's the second chapter of that Ryu/Takeda fic. Isn't it good? Haha. FFN means formatting issues, unfortunately, though fortunately going through this and correcting things for the first time in months means this FFN version is more polished than the one on my lj. This chapter originally took three months to write after the first one. It was tough.

Summary: Ryu has trouble hiding something from Hayato. More specifically, he has trouble hiding his crush on Takeda.

* * *

**The Protector**

* * *

For most of the first week, Ryu stayed locked up in his bedroom. He even refused to eat the first night, until his father threatened him to disown him if he didn't do what he said. Ryu spent a lot of time lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, daytime soap operas playing in the background.

Three days into the first week, he jolted when he heard someone call out, "_Ryu-chan_!"

He sprinted to his balcony and almost fell off, eager at hearing the sound of Takeda's cute and happy voice again. "What are you doing here?" he asked incredulously, smiling the slightest bit at the bleached blond standing on the pavement below. He was wearing his school jacket and a neon green hair band. "It's Monday—you should be in class!"

"I wanted to see _y-o-u_," Takeda sang, nodding at the front gate. "Are you going to let me in or what?"

"Of course!" Ryu quickly fumbled with the lock on his door for the first time in a while and sprinted down the stairs. "Takeda?" he called out breathlessly, poking his head out the door. Had he already left?

"You have to open the gate, dummy," Takeda told him, still on the other side of the wall.

"Right." But once Ryu had opened the gate (and Takeda quickly embraced him,) he didn't feel like going back into the house after being locked in for days. He stood with his hands tucked in his pockets, trembling slightly. "Let's get out of here," he told Takeda. "I know you just asked to come in, but I haven't gotten out since Tuesday."

"Okay," Takeda shrugged. He grabbed Ryu's wrist and jerked it out of the taller boy's pocket. "Let's go," he said, dragging Ryu along with him.

. o . o .

They had nowhere to go, not with Takeda still wearing his uniform and it still being a school day, so they settled for the river bank, where Takeda ran around and Ryu had to laugh at his antics. After a short while, Takeda came back and flopped down on the grass next to Ryu. "I wish Tsucchi were here to play catch with," the blond lamented. "No offense, but you don't like to play, and you suck at it anyway. Plus Tsucchi has the ball." He rolled over onto his back, twining his fingers behind his head. "This is nice though," Takeda sighed contently. "The sun is nice, and the sky is blue, and it's just me and you."

Ryu grinned nervously back, but Takeda's speech had already instilled doubt in him. Now he was wondering if Take was really having fun, just lounging on the grass? Ryu had no problem just sitting back and watching his friends have fun, but now it was just him and Takeda. Takeda was more active than he; was he really content to do nothing, as Ryu was accustomed to doing? Or did he want to play catch or Frisbee? Maybe they should have gone to the arcade, except the cops intent on catching truants always patrolled that area…

A high pitched ringing sounded and Takeda squeaked. "My ass is vibrating!" He jumped up and dragged his cell phone from the tan purse hanging from his belt loops. Sliding it open, he put it to his ear. "Tsucchi?" Ryu could hear Tsuchiya's loud voice from where he was, the words not clearly defined. "No, I'm fine. I just didn't feel like coming to school. Yeah I'm at—no, I'm not at home. You seriously went to look for me? I'm touched. But I'm down buy the river. Bring the catch-ball. Bai-bai!"

"Is Hayato coming?" Ryu drawled when Takeda closed his phone.

"Shit! I forgot to ask!" Takeda had already slid the phone back open when Ryu put his hands over Takeda's.

"It's okay. If Hayato comes, I'll just go," Ryu told him.

"No, it's not okay! If he sees you, he's going to go in and kick the crap out of you!" Takeda tried to free his hands, but Ryu gripped tighter.

"_He'll_ kick the crap out of_ me_?" Ryu queried, voice cold in indignation. The smaller boy gulped.

"It's… okay then." Ryu kept his gaze locked on Takeda's for a moment longer, before dropping his hands. Takeda shakily took up space on the grass, waiting for his friends to come.

Ryu cursed at himself, watching the river flow. If Takeda hadn't been enjoying himself before, then he certainly wasn't now. If Takeda wasn't happy, then there was no point for him to be skipping school to be with Ryu. But Ryu was too stubborn to move; if Hayato came, he'd definitely kick the other teen's ass. He'd already implied to Takeda that he'd stay to see the outcome, and Odagiri Ryu was a man of his word.

He glanced at the blond from the corner of his eye and his heart sank. Takeda was more terrified of his friends fighting than he'd been about getting expelled from school a few days before.

. o . o .

Only Tsucchi came, but that was enough. Tsuchiya glared at him like he was the enemy. "Don't you know," he told Takeda coolly, "That this guy is a traitor? You're not on his side, are you?"

Takeda opened his mouth to retaliate, but Ryu beat him to the punch. "I was bored," he told the taller boy. "So I called Take; he's the only one of you who doesn't hold a grudge."

"No, it's—"

"Don't defend him," Tsuchiya snapped. Then he sighed and softened his voice. "Listen, I won't tell Hayato or Hyuuga, but please. He's not worth fighting over."

"But Ryu's our friend too!" Takeda exclaimed. "Did you forget that? If he doesn't have us, who does he have?"

"He can't have us!" Tsuchiya frustratedly explained. "He betrayed us! His friends! Those who betray their friends are lower than trash."

"I _am_ the worst person," Ryu chimed.

"But—"

"Takeda, don't argue. I don't want to cause fights between friends." Ryu started backing away and raised a hand in farewell. "Take good care of him, Tsucchi."

"Ryu—!" Takeda attempted to bolt after him, but Tschiya stopped him by wrapping his arms around Takeda's shoulders. Ryu's lips tightened before he turned and walked away.

. o . o .

Ryu wasn't sure how, but the guys from at Frentzen found him wandering the streets like a lost kitten. Before he knew it, he was sucked into it. He had nothing else to do, no friends to spend time with, no school to attend, so he began to work. The men from the club teased him and called him _Ryu-chan_ or their lost little kitten. But he did have work ethic. And in the end, that's how it was.

When Ryu came back inside one time from stacking crates of beer, he found Takato talking on his cell phone. The only person who still called him was—"Your boyfriend," Takato told him, handing him the cell.

"He's not my boyfriend," Ryu snapped, blushing. He quickly pushed it to his ear. "Take?"

"Who was that?" Takeda's voice sounded flustered. "He kept propositioning me! It was creepy."

"That was just Takato-san; he's the, uh, he's my boss. He's just teasing you know; you are the only one who calls me." Ryu had been pleasantly surprised that Takeda's effort to stay friends; that's why he still took Takeda's calll. If he hadn't taken them, Takeda would have stopped and left Ryu feeling empty. "Harmless fun. He has a wife and kid, you know. Anyway, what's up?"

"Hayato says he saw you around that night club, Frentzen," Takeda started. "You're not working there, are you?"

"Yeah," Ryu answered truthfully, ducking behind the bar. "I take inventory and sometimes tend the bar." The other end was silent; he could imagine Takeda's face in his mind's eye, chewing his lip and widening his eyes. "It's not as bad as you think," he assured him.

"I want to visit you," Takeda announced abruptly.

"What?" Ryu coughed. He glanced at the table of owners before turning around and hissing, "Visit?"

"You just said it wasn't so bad," Takeda argued, "and I haven't seen you for weeks."

"Are you sure? What about Tsucchi, or Hayato?" While he flinched as he said their names, he would rather Takeda be walking around at night with them than all alone in the dark.

"What about them? I want to see you; they'll only tell me I can't," Takeda huffed into the phone. "Hayato doesn't like to talk about it, so we don't, but you wouldn't believe the venom he spills about you when you do come up. I mean, it's been weeks already! We've been friends forever, and this is the longest I've gone without seeing you in how long?"

Ryu had been talking to Takeda for the past couple weeks, but the eagerness in the other boy's voice now made his pulse quicken a little.

"Whether you like it or not, I'm coming to see you on Friday," Takeda informed him. "I've got to go. See you Friday! Bai-bai."

When Ryu finally opened his mouth, he was met with a resounding click.

. o . o .

Ryu kept himself busy, restocking the fridge, busing tables, wiping down the bar, all the while with one eye on the door. Was Takeda really coming? Would he be able to get in, with his junior high looks?

Ryu went out back for break time, sitting on an empty crate and rubbing at his face with his hands. He was such a wreck, getting so worked up about someone that he didn't even expect would come.

"Psst Ryu!" He looked up, and suddenly Takeda was there, grinning nervously as he approached. "Don't look so surprised! I said I'd come, didn't I?"

True, but… Maybe it was because he hadn't seen the smaller boy in such a long time, but there was _something _about Takeda tonight. His hair was spiked as usual, large eyes catching the light. But that navy shirt he was wearing looked loose on him and too expensive.

"Do I look different?" Takeda asked, cocking his head.

Ryu shook his head, finding his voice to talk. "Isn't that my shirt?"

"Yeah, you left it at Hayato's house a while ago. My mom does laundry for his family sometimes, and since Hayato never came to pick up this shirt…" He tugged on the sleeves and collar. "Does it not look good on me?"

"You look fine," Ryu assured him. Takeda smiled, still standing steps away. Ryu wanted nothing more to close the gap and hug Takeda. "How's school?" he asked instead.

"School's school," Takeda shrugged. He pulled up a crate and sat by Ryu. "Since you've been gone, the class has gotten even more boisterous. Hard to imagine, huh? I think we've gone through another teacher since you left." He chuckled awkwardly.

The small talk was killing Ryu, but he didn't know what else to say. And he really, really, for some unfathomable reason, wanted to hold his friend. "Take…" Ryu paused. Well, shit. He was going for it. "Thanks. You know, for not turning on me." And he leaned over and wrapped an arm around the smaller boy.

Just them, Takeda's cell phone rang. Ryu ignored it and hugged Takeda tighter when he squirmed. "Ryu, I have to answer it!" The tune bounced off the walls.

Footsteps echoed. "There's his ring," a teen's voice (Hyuuga's) pointed out.

"Shit!" Ryu hissed, letting go of Takeda. Takeda fumbled for his cell phone and answered it.

"Uh, hi Hayato?" he squeaked into the phone. He winced, and Ryu could hear an angry voice on the other end that echoed from around the corner.

"Take, what are you doing there?"

Ryu snatched the phone from Takeda and talked in it instead. "Take can do what he want," he told Hayato. "I invited him here; it's his choice if he wants to come."

"Stop bothering him!" Hayato ordered. He was there then, still talking on the phone with Ryu as they stared at each other. "I know you call him obsessively."

Ryu raised an eyebrow; he never once called Takeda, though the other way around had been true. Hayato must have been reading the call log wrong. And what was he doing looking at Takeda's call log anyway? He snapped the phone closed. Tsucchi and Hyuuga were there too, but they skidded to a stop when Hayato just walked up and punched Ryu in the face.

"Stop it!" Takeda desperately pleaded, after picking up his and Hayato's cell phones from the ground. "Stop fighting!"

Neither Ryu nor Hayato listened, returning punch after punch, shove, and elbow.

"You kids!" Ryu immediately stopped, backing away quickly from Hayato. Takato stood at the doorway. "You're causing a disturbance! Leave now, before I call the police!" Tsucchi and Hyuuga dragged Hayato to his feet, still snarling at Ryu, and started running away. Takeda followed after a wide eyed glance at Ryu.

. o . o .

"Just like Romeo and Juliet," Ryu joked.

"Who?"

Ah, that's right. Takeda didn't pay attention in school and wasn't forced to learn English by his father. "From an English play. A guy and a girl fall in love, only their families always fought and hated each other." Ryu switched the phone to his other ear and rolled over onto his back. "Except in this case, we're both guys. And not in love."

Takeda laughed, the sweet sound warming Ryu inside even through the phone's distortion. "Anyway, about Hayato…"

"I understand," Ryu interrupted. "He has all the reason to hate me."

"No he doesn't! He wouldn't if I told him!"

"Don't," Ryu warned. "Listen… if you're going to keep pushing this, stop calling. If he doesn't want to know, fine. If he wants to hate me, fine. I don't care about Hayato."

"Ryu, don't say that—"

"Better yet? Just stop calling. This whole secret friendship thing is bull. You only pity me because I'm alone with no friends. I don't want your pity!"

"What are you—? Since when have I ever—!"

Ryu forged on even though he could hear Takeda's voice cracking. "It's ridiculous! I almost lost my job because of you. And I hate how all the guys assume I'm gay, with you, and how all you ever do is talk, and—"

Ryu thought he heard a sob before a click and a dial tone. He threw his phone across the room. Takeda would be too hurt to call him back. If he kept pushing, he'd realize why Ryu was pushing him away—not because he wanted to, but so as to not get in trouble with Hayato for Take's sake. And if Takeda kept pushing the issue, he'd eventually forfeit to the blond and tell everyone, at least Hayato, why he'd forfeited to Ara. But...

He could never let Hayato know he forfeited on Takeda's behalf. Hayato knew Ryu better than anyone else—he had been his best friend since elementary school after all. If Hayato knew why Ryu forfeited… he would _know_. Hayato would be able to see right through the flimsy excuse of friendship for Takeda and know exactly how Ryu really felt about shorter boy, because Ryu wouldn't have done it for anyone else, not even Hayato. And Hayato had the tendency to overreact and hold long grudges. He also struck Ryu as the type to be homophobic.

So Ryu would much rather have his best friends hate him for saving Takeda than have them hate him for loving him.

****. o . o .


	3. Chapter 3

Hihi again! Haha, more reviews than I expected, though my expectations were like, zero, in the first place. D: But anyway, thanks for all the reviews, guys.

: If you're so Ryu/Take starved, go write your own. Nyah. Kidding, your fanvideos are great. (Let's take a moment here to pimp out this girl's fan dramas**. Cosplay** on Youtube. _Time of Dying._ Go!) Oh, and check that lj comm, cause you might be pleasantly surprised, though waiting a week or so for me to update again here would be pretty much the same thing.

Starting from now, in-series! This next chapter was written nearly a year after the last, go figure. Glancing over episode one and delving into Ryu's side of episode two, so be prepared. This story is titled **The Protector** here on ffn, but I originally named it **Smile**, though both names come from the same line in this story. You'll see. Review and read, please! Thank you.

Summary: Ryu has trouble hiding something from Hayato. More specifically, he has trouble hiding his crush on Takeda.

* * *

**The Protector**

* * *

Ryu had just begun to push Takeda and school to the back of his mind, when a couple weeks later, that woman appeared, spouting nonsense about school and teachers actually caring. He actually did want to go back to school—after all, he'd be able to be with Takeda every day, and that was also where all his friends were—but two things stopped him. Of course, there was the accord his father had with the school where he would be able to graduate without attending. Then there was Hayato.

Ryu knew where Hayato's anger came from. He would be just as angry if Hayato had been the one to damage their class 3-D pride, but hotheaded Hayato held grudges longer than he did. In the end, Yamaguchi kept pushing and pushing until he found himself quitting at Frentzen. When she saved him afterwards, he knew he would _have_ to go to school now.

. o . o .

The next day, he finally put on his school jacket after such a long time of it lying unused in his closet. In the mirror, he checked his face and his collar, making sure his school pin was still visible and his injuries presentable. He waited until his father was out of the house before he picked up his school bag and left. This meant being late, but really, did that matter?

He walked onto campus alone, not even reacting to the teachers screeching at him to stay away. His strange teacher, Yamaguchi, seemed genuinely delighted that he was there.

Class 3-D was waiting for him outside of their classroom, Hayato standing at the front, flanked by Hyuuga and Take. Ryu cast his eyes down, hoping not to look at his (ex) best friend's face. "Long time no see," Hayato greeted sarcastically. "What do you want now?" Ryu looked at Hayato and looked away, unwilling to answer. This invited Hayato to snarl, "I haven't forgiven you," as if Ryu was seeking such forgiveness in the first place. Ryu intended on breezing past the other boy without a word, but then Hayato punched him. Ryu lunged back at him, but then the whole of class 3-D surrounded them, keeping them from killing each other. The struggle ended when Yamaguchi-sensei drenched the class in water and gave them a speech about getting along. In the end, the entire day was awkward.

. o . o .

The morning afterward, Ryu debated going to school again. If the first day had been hard, the second wouldn't be any easier. Was he going to run away? Of course not. So after his father went to work, Ryu put on his uniform and headed to class.

Just outside the door, Ryu hesitated to enter class 3-D. From here he could hear Yamaguchi calling out his name for roll call and the boys of the class mocking him, something they never would have done before. Taking a deep breath, Ryu slid open the door and stepped inside. He was greeted with silence. "Ryu," called Takeda. He couldn't help but look at the shorter boy, warmth welling up in his chest when he saw Takeda's smile for the first time in so long. "Ohayo," he greeted. Ryu looked away.

"Odagiri, if you're late three times, it counts as an absence," Yamaguchi scolded him. "I have no intention of treating you specially. Keep that in mind." As she spoke, Ryu found the empty seat sitting in the front corner, far away from the seat he used to sit in. He was putting his bag down when he felt a death gaze boring into the back of his head. Turning, Ryu met eyes with Hayato. As they stared each other down, Ryu wondered what it would take to mend their friendship. Actually, he doubted if there was anything he could do at all.

. o . o .

Everyone ditched that day after Yagumi's math class, in which all they had done was play soccer. Ryu was unwilling to go home right away, so he loitered around town, thinking about the events of that day. His classmates had alienated him, the teacher was weird, and Takeda was one of the first boys to whistle and harass the St. Momo's track runners. Ryu attempted to cast that last thought out of his mind. Takeda was cute, sure, but Ryu wasn't supposed to be jealous of anyone, let alone those girls. He was supposed to like girls; girls liked him in any case, and Takeda liked girls.

He was walking by the highway when he spotted Takeda waiting for him by the graffiti covered wall. "Take," he breathed. He was surprised that Takeda was waiting in the street to talk to him, without Hayato, Tsuchiya, or Hyuuga around.

"Hey," Takeda smiled nervously.

Ryu's brow furrowed and he walked over to his friend. "What's wrong?" he asked, ready to kick the ass of the person that left Takeda alone in the middle of the night.

"Well, I'm glad you're coming to school again," Takeda told him, his smile shy. "I was worried about what would happen if you never came back."

Ryu couldn't say anything, for fear of what would come out of his mouth. He could feel the warmth creeping up his neck.

Mistaking his silence for something else, Takeda continued, "Maybe I should tell everyone what happened."

"Don't think about doing something unnecessary," Ryu snapped, falling into their familiar argument. He glared at Takeda, cute, wide eyed Takeda, and sighed. "Go home before you catch a cold," he said, patting Takeda's shoulder as he walked away. It was an apology, even though it didn't sound like one. It was apology for snapping at him, as well as for walking away when Takeda was in this awkward situation, caught between his friends and Ryu.

. o . o .

Ryu sat alone in the front of the classroom, mocked silently by his classmates who acted ignorant to his presence. Not too long ago, Ryu was the ring leader. He was the center of attention, the one sitting next to Hayato and making plans for fights against rival schools. And now, he was an outcast. What hurt the most was that Hayato, who had been his best friend since grade school, didn't even look at him, unless it was to publicly mock him for bowing down to Ara High. So Ryu blocked out the pain as his former partner in crime glared daggers at his back.

. o . o .

The class was running from the cops when Ryu saw Hayato and Yamaguchi squared off in the middle of a courtyard. Shocked, he stopped to watch, and couldn't tear his eyes away. Hayato was as strong as Ryu was in fights against high school students, but Ryu had seen what Yamaguchi could do against a whole gang of older men with his own eyes. Her curious life lesson ended with a punch to Hayato's gut.

"As long as you have the strength to protect what is precious to you, that's all you need," she preached, leaving Hayato gasping for breath in her wake. Yamaguchi was really weird.

But even then, Ryu watched Hayato push himself off the ground and brush away the dirt from his knees. The other boy's face seemed troubled by Yamaguchi's statement. Somehow Ryu felt that if he called out to him now, Hayato would be one step closer to being his friend again.

Hayato stepped onto the street, looking both ways before deciding which way to go, and locked eyes with Ryu. They stared for what seemed like ages, Hayato trying to understand and Ryu trying to hide. Once again, it was Ryu who turned his back and walked away.

. o . o .

The next day, the entirety of class 3-D was riotous. They called for blood from the Ara students, and Ryu was caught by the door, unwilling to wade across the sea of angry students. Even faced with the ultimatum of being expelled, they weren't going to back down. As soon as the head teacher left, Tsuchiya called for a raid of Ara High as soon as Hayato arrived. The fact that Ryu's apology, expulsion, and sacrifice amounted to nothing brought him to the boiling point.

"What will you accomplish by doing that?" Ryu yelled, the first thing he'd said in class since his return.

"We need to put and end to this, you know," Tsuchiya berated. "It's no use if we keep competing against them." Tsuchiya glared at him and warned, "Don't bow your head selfishly like you did last time."

Hyuuga jumped in with, "If you hadn't done that back then, it would have ended already." Ryu looked towards the ground. He had been trying to end the conflict back then, but obviously it hadn't worked.

"It's your fault that this conflict with Ara High has gone on so long," Tsuchiya accused him.

"You're wrong!" Takeda cut in, standing to his feet.

"Take!" Ryu snapped, glaring at the shorter boy. He couldn't say it now, not when everyone was watching. Not here of all places.

"Ryu didn't do anything wrong," Takeda continued anyway, looking away from Ryu's heated gaze.

"What do you mean?" Yamaguchi asked with genuine interest.

"What happened back then was all my fault."

"Take," Ryu growled in warning. Takeda refused to listen.

Takeda told the whole story, about how he was scared, about how he wanted to graduate for his mother's sake, about how he couldn't run away on his own. And when he talked about Ryu, he looked into Ryu's eyes with a heartfelt gaze, eyes shining with emotion as he confessed. "Ryu bowed down to them, all alone, just for me!" Ryu lowered his eyes so no one would see the flush rising to his cheeks. "Ryu is not a traitor," Takeda said, lowering his breaking voice. "Ryu, I'm sorry." He bowed low and kept his head down. "I'm really sorry!"

"Don't apologize," Ryu told him. Takeda had nothing to apologize for. Now that it was in the open, Ryu could feel the poison between him and the whole class dissipating. At least Hayato hadn't hear Takeda's explanation, because only Hayato had a chance at seeing the true meaning behind the words.

They ended up waiting for Hayato to come to class, and they would have waited forever if Yousuke hadn't left for the bathroom and spotted Hayato's bag lying by the back door. Ryu frowned; that meant Hayato had to have heard Takeda's confession. He would know Ryu's feelings for Takeda—no! The fact that Hayato had run off to Ara High on his own was of more importance. Yamaguchi chased after her student, Takeda, Tsuchiya, and Hyuuga trailing behind.

Ryu knew Hayato. The stubborn boy would take on all of Ara High alone. Knowing that Hayato would get his ass handed to him, Ryu had no choice but to leave as well, taking a short cut to Ara High, running as fast as he could.

Shibuya had Hayato cornered, friends holding the Kurogin student back as he raised his fist. Ryu jumped into the fray, the two fighting back to back just like they used to, except that on a normal occasion they wouldn't be so outnumbered. They somehow ended up on the ground, rolling in pain with the kicks and hits, when Ryu heard distantly a familiar group of voices shout, "Hayato!"

And it was possibly just his imagination, but he heard Takeda's voice call his name too.

. o . o .

They lounged on the river bank, bruised and broken, Yamaguchi praising them for their great work in protecting what was precious to them. With a grin, Yamaguchi jumped to her feet and declared that they should head back to school. Ryu just stared after her with the same amazement that Take, Tsucchi, and Hyuuga did.

"I'm sorry."

Ryu turned to look at Hayato, who took a long time looking back. But when their eyes connected, it was familiar again. Ryu wasn't hiding this time, because his secret had been exposed. Hayato wasn't wondering now, because now he knew exactly why Ryu had betrayed him. And suddenly they were best friends again.

Takeda, Tsuchiya, and Hyuuga bumped each other's shoulders in celebration, and Ryu couldn't help but smile a little.

"So," Hayato drawled, his lips tilting upward in a small smirk. "Takeda, huh?"

Ryu's eyes narrowed. "You…"

"Alright!" Yamaguchi exclaimed. "Let's run towards the setting sun!"

"We're injured," Hayato ground out, supported on either side by Tsuchiya and Hyuuga. He winced as he stood on his feet.

Tsuchiya was bent nearly double to let Hayato hang from his shoulders. "You're too short," he teased.

"You're too tall," Hayato retorted, being all but dragged by his two friends.

Ryu was a lot better off, able to walk, though Takeda was at a perfect height to use as a crutch, and the feel of Take's arm around his waist wasn't unwelcome either. He glanced Hayato, who winked at him and smirked.

Ryu sighed and looked back at Takeda, who was smiling widely now that the five of them were together again. Had Ryu been a lesser man, he would have melted. As it was, Ryu just then realized that he would do anything to protect that smile.

. o . o .


	4. Chapter 4

Uh, heheh... I really wasn't going to go so long without uploading this chapter. Sorry about that. Also sorry that this is the latest written chapter, so the next wait may be a little longer.

Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

Summary: Ryu has trouble hiding something from Hayato. More specifically, he has trouble hiding his crush on Takeda.

* * *

**The Protector**

* * *

"Ha-ya-_to_."

"Yeah?" Hayato replied as Takeda skipped over to their pool table and picked up a cue. As he moved around the table for a better vantage point for his next turn, he shot Ryu a cheeky grin. Ryu tried to act nonplussed, but Hayato's tacit taunting was affecting him. Ryu was leading by three, but Takeda's appearance was sure to throw him off his game, especially when the boy had greeted Hayato enthusiastically and hadn't spared Ryu a glance.

"So Valentine's Day is coming up," Takeda started, busying his hands with a cube of chalk.

Ryu looked up sharply. "What about it?" Hayato teased as he made his shot. "Are you wondering what kind of chocolate I'd like? Ow!" He jumped when the end of Ryu's cue jabbed into his side.

"That's not cool," Ryu scolded him, mock playfully whacking Hayato again before moving to the other side of the table.

"Ye-yeah," Takeda stammered, tripping over his own feet when he moved out of Ryu's way.

Hayato just grinned. "Then what's this about Valentine's Day, Take?"

"Well, you got like, fifty chocolates last year, so I was wondering..." Takeda seemed embarrassed to be asking Hayato this question, focusing his eyes instead on Ryu aiming his cue. "What's your secret to getting so many?"

Hayato laughed out loud. "My good looks, obviously." Takeda looked disheartened.

"He didn't get fifty," Ryu snorted, sinking a solid into the center pocket.

"He got a lot," Takeda snapped back. "Forget it. It was a silly question." With a huff, he threw down his cue and walked out of the arcade.

Ryu took aim again, missing by a mile.

"Why don't you go after him?" Hayato asked, elbowing Ryu suggestively. "You know you want to."

Ryu sighed. "It's obvious that he wants to be alone."

"No he doesn't," Hayato objected. "He wants to know how to get Valentines chocolate."

"Because he wants to know how to get a girl." Ryu tossed his cue down beside Takeda's and walked away. "You know I don't have a chance."

"It doesn't hurt to try," Hayato called out.

. o . o .

After school the next day, the boys were leaving for the arcade again, but Take disappeared as soon as school ended. "What's up with him anyway?" Tsuchiya complained. "He hasn't been hanging out with us for a while."

"Maybe he's in some kind of trouble," Hyuuga theorized.

"No way." Ryu frowned. "He'd tell me if he needed help."

"Maybe it's a girl," Hayato suggested. "He's been daydreaming lately, and he asked me for girl advice the other day."

"Ah yeah," agreed Tsuchiya, "He's been really happy lately too. It has to be a girl!"

Takeda and a girl? The thought didn't seem right to Ryu. The girls always went after him and Hayato for their looks, and Takeda had more of a little brother look than a boyfriend look. Even if the girl looked past his lack of sex appeal, Takeda was pretty meek. The lucky bitch would eat the poor boy alive. This was a dangerous situation.

"Aww," Hyuuga cooed, grabbing onto Tsuchiya's arm, playing a married couple. "Our baby is all grown up."

"Hey, look!" Hayato ducked behind Tsuchiya's tall frame. "Speak of the devil."

The rest of his friends followed his line of vision, noticing Takeda crouching behind a bus stop across the street. Four pairs of eyes followed Takeda as he continued down the street, ducking behind trashcans and trees along the way.

"What the-" Tsuchiya breathed.

"What's he doing?" Hyuuga finished. The two of them and Hayato crept along after their shorter friend, curious as to where Takeda was going and why he was pulling out his sneaky ninja moves to get there.

Ryu was the one who noticed the girl first. Of course he did; he was the only one among his friends with any sense at all. The fact that he was infatuated with Takeda had nothing to do with seeing Takeda's giddy expression focused on the St. Momo's girl walking a half block ahead of him. Also, he totally wasn't feeling envious that the round-faced dyed-haired bitch had caught Takeda's interest.

"Hey, is he following that chick?" Hyuuga seemed excited.

"She's cute. Take sure can pick them." Tsucchi clearly approved of the girl.

"Yosh! Let's go tease him about her." Hayato made to cross the street.

"Leave him alone," Ryu said, turning to walk away.

"Jealous?" Hayato teased.

Ryu turned around and shoved Hayato. "No," he ground out.

Hayato wore a grin that said, _Prove it_.

. o . o .

They ended up all sitting in the restaurant where that girl worked, Takeda sighing and making eyes at her every time she wasn't looking. It made Ryu sick.

They all scrutinized Maki and wheedled out the details of Takeda's crush while Ryu feigned indifference when he was actually paying closer attention than anyone else. Every word from Takeda about this girl made Ryu's heart sink deeper. Maki was tough and gorgeous, smart and blunt.

Ryu was tough and gorgeous, according to the twenty some girls who gave him chocolates. Ryu was smart and blunt, whenever he spoke to anyone but Takeda. So what made Maki more special than him? What had caught Take's attention? Sure Maki saved a random girl from a pervert, but Ryu had saved _Takeda_ from perverts, assholes, and thugs multiple times.

Then he remembered that Maki was a girl.

"Come on, say something to her," Hyuuga egged on.

"I can't," Takeda sighed.

"Nothing's gonna start by just looking at her." Ryu had no idea why he was giving Takeda advice, but seeing Takeda mooning over her was heartbreaking. Takeda grimaced and instead asked Tsuchiya, the loud, outgoing one of the five, to introduce him and ask for her type.

"I like strong guys, and I hate weak guys," Maki replied innocently. Ryu noticed Hayato grinning and pointing at himself as Takeda's shoulders slumped. Takeda shuffled out as the others looked on.

"Give him some time," Yamaguchi advised, but Ryu couldn't do that.

. o . o .

When he left the shop later, he headed straight towards Takeda's home, where his mother let Ryu into the small apartment. "Take?" Ryu called softly as he slid open the shorter boy's bedroom door.

On his bed, Takeda jumped, quickly swiping at his eyes with his sleeve. "Ryu, what are you doing here?"

Ryu chose to ignore the question, moving around Takeda's room to toy with the various trinkets and arcade prizes on the shelves. "Maki-chan's no big deal," Ryu said. "There are others just like her." _Like me_, he added silently.

Takeda sniffed and laughed quietly. "You suck at consolation. You know that?"

"Yeah. Sorry." Ryu touched a luck charm he'd given Takeda when they had been applying to senior high school almost three years ago. Takeda remained quiet, sniffling softly. Ryu stared at him, at a loss as to how to console his friend. Gingerly, he sat down beside Takeda on his bed and laid a hand on Takeda's shoulder. Neither of them said a word.

Takeda jumped when his phone rang. He knocked Ryu's hand away and dove for the phone on the bedside table. "It's Tsucchi," he told Ryu before he slid open his phone. "What's up?"

"Of course I'm not ditching tomorrow. Who do you think I am? No, I'm not moping about Maki-chan. Haha, alright Tsucchi, you've convinced me. Later."

When Takeda hung up and turned back to his guest, Ryu asked, "What did he want?"

Takeda shrugged. "Just wanted to cheer me up." Ryu nodded slightly, noting that the edges of Take's smile. He wished he'd been the one to make them appear.

. o . o .

"So they went to her shop again?"

"Yeah," Hayato informed him over milk tea and iced coffee the next afternoon. "They were excited 'cause Take's going to talk to her today."

Ryu glanced at Hayato. At times he wondered if his best friend still held a grudge against him or if he just liked jerking Ryu around. Instead of voicing his thoughts, he leaned forward and reached for his iced coffee, stirring the liquid in thought. "Take has a weak will," he noted, more to convince himself that nothing would happen than anything else.

Hayato sipped his tea. "If I were Take, I'd finish it in one shot."

Ryu looked up sharply, panicked for a second that Takeda was busy doing exactly what Hayato had said. He laughed nervously when he realized it was impossible, that Hayato was just saying it to get him riled up. He returned to stirring his drink nervously.

"How many chocolates did you get last year?" Hayato asked, changing the subject.

"I dunno," Ryu mused, leaning back in his seat. "About twenty."

"I got about twenty-two," Hayato boasted.

Ryu wasn't letting Hayato get away with that. "I see. I think I got thirty."

"Now I remember, I had forty-five," Hayato amended.

"I think it was sixty-seven."

"I had eighty-four."

"Well, I had around a hund-"

"Wow. You guys are popular." The two best friends looked up to see their homeroom teacher sitting in the teahouse with a parfait in hand. She grinned at them and added, "Or maybe you're aiming too low."

Ryu's eye twitched.

. o . o .

Later, after they had ditched Yankumi and were headed back to Hayato's place to kick back, Ryu had to ask, "Why did he want your advice anyway? The thing about you getting more chocolates is total bull."

"Maybe it's because I actually like girls," Hayato suggested. Ryu promptly shoved him into the gutter.


	5. Chapter 5

HI! I'm BACK! It's been almost two months? Nice! Ah... yeah, two months is a relatively short wait for my fics. :x Butbutbut, HERE is the second part of my interpretation of episode 5. I think it's a shorter chapter than the others, and not as high quality, but I like it.

Haha, this was the episode with the chocolate song, right? "Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate ga, hoshii!" Reviews too. :)

Chapter Summary: Takeda gets chocolate. Ryu gets jealous.

* * *

**The Protector**

* * *

Takeda walked into the classroom, making a beeline for Hyuuga and Tsuchiya. Not that Ryu cared or anything that Takeda walked past him without saying a word. He didn't even look at Takeda for fear of being too transparent. Nothing got away from his best friend though; Hayato glanced at Takeda, turned to Ryu, and continued talking without missing a beat. For a second, Ryu had thought Hayato would make fun of him again, and sighed inwardly in relief. Sometimes Hayato _was_ good to him.

Then Maki walked in.

Ryu watched motionlessly as she stalked over to Takeda and slapped him in the face. Ryu was stunned, unable to process what was going on. How could anyone possibly want to hurt Takeda? _"Were you planning harassment?"_ That didn't sound anything like him... _ "What did I ever do to you?"_ Was liking her a crime?

"It's because Take likes you," Tsuchiya jumped in. Ryu was still putting together the pieces in his head. Did Hyuuga and Tsuchiya talk Takeda into some strange pick up scheme?

"Don't come near me," Maki spat, storming out of the classroom.

Takeda was despondent. Something inside Ryu's chest clenched, but he didn't know what to do about the ache. When Yankumi asked about the problem, Tsuchiya told the truth, everything about their botched pickup line and the beating he and Hyuuga took. Ryu didn't want to look at the angry, pouting Takeda. He was seeing a side to Takeda he hadn't known existed, more selfish and cowardly than he'd ever thought the smaller boy to be. So even when Yankumi hit Takeda, Ryu's heart jumping at the sound, he didn't look.

Even when Takeda set off running, Ryu wouldn't turn around.

. o . o .

_ "I'm sorry, Takeda Keita is not available. Please leave a messa-"_

Ryu snapped his phone shut. "Take isn't answering his phone."

Hayato frowned, his hands shoved deeper in his pockets. "Just give him some time to cool off."

"He's had all day," Tsuchiya snapped. "We should make sure he's okay, alright? Let's split into groups."

The rest of them quickly agreed, searching the whole Shirokin area fruitlessly. Once or twice, Ryu thought he saw a bleached head and orange shirt somewhere in the crowd, but he when he caught up, the boy wasn't Takeda. Out of breath, he paused to let Hayato catch up to him.

"Take doesn't want to be found," Hayato panted. "He'll turn up; we can't keep wearing ourselves down searching like this."

Ryu kicked the curb, pacing now in front of Hayato. "I'm worried sick about him, aren't you?" he demanded.

Hayato scowled at Ryu's tone. "Of course I am, but Take can take care of himself."

"But I'm supposed to be there for him," Ryu explained as calmly as he could. "I promised I'd watch out for him, but now he's gone and I couldn't stop him from going in the first place."

"Not your fault," Hayato told him. "Totally not your fault. If anything, it's Maki-chan than broke his heart."

At the sound of Maki's name, Ryu's fist clenched. "Hayato, I think I know where he is."

. o . o .

They ran into Yankumi outside Maki's restaurant, babbling senselessly as usual. Ryu impatiently snapped at her and pushed past everyone to go in. Takeda wasn't there, but as soon as they found out about the fight at the river's edge, Ryu sprinted for his dear life. When they finally found him, Ryu was ready to go in and pummel that college guy's ass. Yankumi held him back. It hurt, watching Takeda fall again and again. His lips bled, his punches missed, obviously a terrible fighter against such a good one. All Ryu could do was call Takeda's name uselessly.

When Maki arrived, she watched with wide eyes. "Why?" she asked out loud, her eyes not leaving Takeda's small frame. "I told him never to approach me again."

"Don't you see?" Ryu addressed Maki more emotionally than he normally would. He was jealous; he could hear it in his voice. But honestly, he didn't care. Maki was the girl Takeda was fighting for, and if Takeda was fighting for her, he would do his part as well. "He's doing it for you."

After all was said and done, Takeda lay panting, surrounded by his friends. When Maki handed him her handkerchief, Takeda smiled. Ryu eyed that grin and knew he could gladly give him up to Maki, even if he hated her guts.

Just when he had resolved to let go of his feelings for Takeda, Hyuuga dropped the boy, Hayato catching Takeda unstably. "Hey, Ryu," his best friend called, "Help out, won't you?"

He hesitated, looking into Takeda's bruised face. He sighed. "Alright," Ryu said, stepping over and allowing Takeda to wrap his arm around his neck, small body suspended between Ryu and Hayato. Ryu's arm found its way around Takeda's waist. It felt natural.

. o . o .  
_  
_

_"I see you on the way to school. You look so cool, and I was wondering if-"_

_"I fell in love at first sight."_

_"Please accept this chocolate, as well as my feelings for you!"_

Including Yankumi's chocolate and the box Takeda had handed him from his mother, Ryu was already at the fourteen mark. Hayato laughed as a girl in a sailor suit shoved a box of chocolates into Ryu's hands and ran away. Ryu shoved it into his book bag and scowled. "Don't laugh," Ryu admonished. "This bag is heavy."

"That's why I eat the chocolates as soon as I get them," Hayato grinned as he unwrapped another box.

"That's how you get fat," Ryu muttered as they entered the teahouse. He signaled to the shopkeeper to get them their usual drinks. "By the way, what number is that?"

"Eighteen," Hayato announced, smacking his lips.

"No way. I've been with you the whole time; thirteen at most."

"Including Yankumi's chocolate, Take's mom, and the ones I found in my shoe locker."

Ryu blinked at his friend's innocently happy expression. "You know those were from _guys_, right? We attend an all boys school."

"Chocolate is chocolate is chocolate. Like you're one to talk anyway. You're probably the one who stashed a box in Take's locker," Hayato snorted as he took his drink to his favorite armchair.

"Take got chocolate from boys?" Troubled, he sat down next to his friend. Hayato leaned over and poked a finger into Ryu's cheek.

"Jealous much?" he teased. Ryu swatted his hand away before sipping his iced tea.

. o . o .

_"How many did I get?"_ Takeda repeated thoughtfully. _"Let's see... Yankumi's, Maki-chan's, uh, Megumi's-"_

Ryu laughed. "Calling your mother by her name, are we?" He couldn't help smiling as he settled on his bed, phone pressed close to his ear.

_"Well-!"_ Takeda stammered. Ryu chuckled as he imagined Takeda's flushing face. _"Hey, I might not have gotten as many as you, but I did get some! In fact, a secret admirer left me chocolate in my shoebox. And I got Maki-chan's number, so there."_

Ryu's fingers tightened on his handset, and he asked carefully, "How did the chocolates taste?"

_"Delicious. I've got to go; Megumi's calling me for dinner."_

"Tell her I said thanks."

_"Will do. Later." _Takeda hung up the phone, leaving Ryu to groan in frustration.

He was getting needlessly worked up. What did it matter to him if Takeda liked Maki's chocolate? What did it matter if he was getting presents from boys?

Ryu looked at the stack of chocolates sitting on his desk. He had dumped them out of his bag, pink and white and red boxes piled under the desk lamp. The only one worth anything was the one Takeda handed him this morning. _"It's from my mom,"_ he'd said shyly, passing out four boxes to Ryu and the others. _"She says thanks for, you know. Yesterday."_ Then he'd smiled, cracked lip breaking and bleeding. Ryu saved that chocolate.

The rest went into the trashcan.

. o . o .


	6. Chapter 6

Four months is ridiculously long to wait for such a short chapter, right? No wait! Don't forge to review, please! Here, have some ficcage.

Chapter Summary: Part one of episode 9. Ryu agonizingly decides to give Takeda a confession gift on White Day.

* * *

**The Protector**

* * *

Having tossed around in bed all night, it wasn't surprising that Ryu found himself awake before dawn, bleary eyed and still unable to sleep. It was White Day; Ryu, having never given chocolate before, had been agonizing since Valentine's. What was the protocol for giving chocolate to the one you liked? Should he even give some to Takeda? After all, it was really Takeda's mother who had given him the chocolate, even if Takeda was the one he liked.

And for that matter, what chocolate would be appropriate? Takeda liked Pocky, but that didn't seem special enough. On the other hand, Ryu couldn't cook the chocolate himself, and asking his own mother would be impossible. He ended up ordering a collection of miniature milk chocolates from Richart from a store on the other end of Tokyo, asking the clerk to wrap it in white striped silver foil. Ever since, it had remained seated on his desk top mockingly.

Should he even present it? And if so, how?

During his mad search for a present for Takeda, Ryu had casually questioned Hayato what he would do to give a White Day gift to a girl. Hayato then proceeded to launch into a story about how he would bring roses and wine flavored chocolate, buy the girl a nice cellphone charm, and lure her into a private area where just the two of them could witness his act of love, but then again, with the two hundred Valentine's chocolate he had received (Ryu snorted), it wouldn't be fair just to single out one girl.

Then Hayato had tilted his head in Takeda's direction, where the smaller boy was busy texting madly. He had just gotten matching Sanrio cellphone charms with Maki, and even a few desks away, the punky kitten's face was mocking Ryu. He shouldn't even be contemplating White Day, Hayato grimaced as he pat his best friend's shoulder. Take was already planning something big with Maki. Better luck next time.

But on White Day, Ryu woke up and got prepared for school, pulling on his jacket when he spotted the Richart chocolate on his desk again. Why the hell not, Ryu thought, and he slipped the box into his book bag.

. o . o .

"Goooood morning!" his friends called out to him, skipping up to the rich boy.

Ryu glanced back as the four idiots rushed up to him, and Takeda innocently touched his shoulder in greeting.

"I made arrangements," Hayato announced, excitedly sharing a pinky promise with Takeda.

"Arrangements?" Ryu asked, confused. What was with Hayato keeping a secret with Takeda about?

"Don't be surprised," Hayato continued as if his friend hadn't spoken, "but we have a group date with Momo High Girls!"

Ryu really wasn't surprised. Hayato was a dog for girls. But then Takeda had to get that far off look in his eye, dramatically waving his hand at some vision. "I set it up with Maki-chan," he explained the wistful tone he got every time he so much as thought about the girl.

"Oh Take, you've gotten so far," Tsuchiya said, proudly resting his hand on Takeda's shoulder. Ryu suddenly found the gravel on the ground interesting as Hyuuga and Tsuchiya continued their congratulatory banter.

"Hey, Ryu," Hayato interrupted, silencing their friends and pointing at Ryu. "You're coming too."

Without thinking, he said, "Okay."

The gasps his friends made was worth his impromptu agreement.

"That's rare, Ryu-chan coming on a date," Takeda teased, breaking into a cute grin.

"He's always saying, 'I'll pass,'" Tsuchiya laughed, doing a bad imitation of Ryu that made Takeda bounce with laughter.

"You're saying it all wrong," Hayato tsked. He assumed his stupid imitation stance, shoulders tight and voice high as he said, "I'll pass." The boys laughed.

Annoyed, Ryu broke their mocking with a question. "I just have to sit there, right?" he asked. Really, all he wanted to do was give Takeda his present, and sitting through a group date with a group of girls would be worth getting a chance at that. After the date, when they all went their separate ways, he could walk Takeda home again and give the chocolates then.

"Alright, then let's get it on!" Hayato announced, ready for their silly declarations. He, Hyuuga, Tsuchiya, and Takeda huddled, touching their fingers together to make this promise binding. Ryu, as usually, looked away from his embarrassing group of friends. "We're going to make this the final memory of our high school lives!"

"Nyan!" the boys promised.

"We're definitely getting ourselves girlfriends!" It was almost painful, watching his foolish friends. Then Hayato called to him. "Hurry and join us," he said. Ryu was pretty sure Hayato didn't take into account what close proximity that would put Takeda to Ryu. Sure, they were a touchy feely group of friends, but declarations weren't Ryu's thing. However, Takeda's warmth at his back...

Ryu put his hand on Takeda's, and the others continued with Yankumi's chosen battle cry. "Fighto-" A hand suddenly pressed on top of Ryu's. "-Oh!"

"So what's this about?" Yankumi asked excitedly, as noisy and invasive as ever.

The energy from just minutes ago mellowed out, the boys denying anything going on, though they grinned teasingly and skipped away.

Watching his friends, Ryu couldn't help but smile, just a little bit.

Following their lead, he patted their teacher's shoulder and started walking away before she called his name. "You're smiling more than usual," she noted. Then she did her weird thing, scrunching her face like an anime character's. "You're so cuuuuuuuuuuute-"

"Shut up," Ryu interrupted. At her shocked face, he laughed.

. o . o .

Class 3D's shoe cubby sat outside the classroom door, an attempt to keep the delinquent class separate from the rest of the school, whose shoe lockers were together in a bay in the main building. And even though Ryu usually took his seat in the classroom first, today he stood looking at the cubby holes, contemplating. The rest of the boys were goofing off-most of them didn't even bother using the slippers anyway-and no one really took notice when Ryu wasn't in the room, because he never joined in their childish festivities in the first place. So today, Ryu took a look at the shoe lockers. There was something wrong there.

More specificically, there was a box slipped in next to Takeda's slippers.

Takeda had forgone changing into his slippers in excitement, ready to make his big announcement to the class. Hayato had even spent all night making up a flier to show off to everyone. So Ryu still had time to either steal the White Day gift or leave it for Takeda to find later. If he left it, he would have the chance to see Takeda's reaction to having a male admirer; but he he took it, Ryu could open it and find out who his rival in love was.

Then, Ryu was jostled out of his thoughts by the loud, obnoxious, rabble rousing calls of Hayato, Tsuchiya, Takeda, and Hyuuga. Momomichi grabbed him by the jacket, telling Ryu, "They won't make the announcement until everyone's inside!" and dragging him in, unceremoniously dropping him in his usual seat before.

Ryu was still really annoyed. It wasn't just that Takeda was taking secret meetings with Maki-chan to organize things like group dates, but Hayato had known about it too. He would know full well Ryu's feelings on the subject; Ryu didn't like girls, didn't like dating them or spending any amount of time focused on them, because in the end, they would lead to trouble. He even knew about Ryu's feelings for Takeda, and still would subject him to watching the boy flirt with Maki-chan, while fending off some love starved Momo High girl? Hayato was just plain cruel.

Just then, Hayato made the announcement, voice loud and proud: "We're having a group date!"

And the whole of class 3D shouted joyously.

Ryu sighed. "It's impossible to take everyone," he pointed out.

He could hear Hayato drop his flier. "You're right!" Hayato gasped, distraught. So Hayato hadn't meant to be cruel; he just hadn't been thinking in the first place.

. o . o .

Five of the slots were already taken, so they proceeded to make a drawing box to see who else would have the chance to go. Hayato, as usual, dragged Ryu into the activities. This gave Ryu the chance to talk to him privately.

"You're being cruel," he stated as he worked on taping together the drawing sticks.

"It kills me to cut someone out, but it's necessary with only ten girls," Hayato sighed.

Ryu gave him an odd look. "No, to me," he clarified. "To make me go on a group date with that," he nodded towards Takeda, who was moving out to the hallway as he texted, probably to Maki.

Hayato jabbed his nose with the end of his stick. "You're the one who said yes. And besides, I thought you should get a girl. To distract yourself." He looked away, a little embarassed to admit that, continuing to tape his assigned character to the end of the drawing stick.

Ryu hadn't thought of that possibility, and he was touched by Hayato's attempt to cheer him up. "Alright, fine. I won't complain anymore." Ryu finished up with his pink winner top, dropping it into the cardboard box sitting between the two of them. Every other guy in the class was still working on their own; each student would make one stick for the drawing, so there would be enough; the five ring leaders were the only ones making hearts.

"So," Hayato said conversationally, dropping his stick in the box as well, "What was Yankumi's strange rant about this morning? I didn't really catch it; she's too entertaining when she's daydreaming to actually pay attention to."

"It's White Day today," Ryu shrugged. "And we all know how she has that crush on Maki-chan's teacher."

"Speaking of White Day, did you get a certain someone anything?" Hayato grinned, snatching Ryu's bag from beside his desk. Ryu lunged for it, Hayato playing keep away. Ryu took back anything he just thought about Hayato being a good guy. His best friend was a cruel, self indulging, stupid little-

"Iyah!" Takeda's shout caught the attention of the whole class, though only a handful who were done with their drawing sticks immediately piled into the corridor to see what was the problem. The members of the class parted for Ryu and Hayato to rush to Takeda's side.

Takeda's face was shocked; his classroom slippers were in his hand, the wrapped gift Ryu had seen earlier inside the cubby hole dropped on the floor by his feet.

He turned to the rest of the class, shouting in his high tenor, "Who the hell thinks I'm a girl?"


	7. Chapter 7

I planned to have this chapter ready as a Valentine's present, but I was only half way done then. But hey! Only a month wait! Read on, and don't forget to leave a review. :grins:

Chapter Summary: White Day part two. Ryu... is still jealous.

* * *

**The Protector**

* * *

"Not that I'm against guys like _that_," Takeda defended his outburst. He glared dagger at the box he had slammed on his desk when he took his seat. "I mean, I took the Valentine's chocolate, didn't I? But that's when you give boys chocolate; White Day is for giving gifts to _girls_."

"Chocolate is chocolate is chocolate," Hayato recited airily, reaching towards the unopened box on Takeda's desk. "Can I have some?"

With a curt nod of approval, Takeda crossed his arms moodily, hunching into himself and stretching his legs straight forward, out from underneath his desk. Even his scowl, Ryu noted with slight irritation, came off as an adorable pout. "Maybe," Ryu snapped, his ire hardly concealed, "Maybe that guy figured White Day was the day for men to confess their feelings. Maybe he had a hard time deciding if he should get you something, or what he should get you, or if it was really even appropriate since you aren't a girl. Maybe his feelings are just so strong he couldn't _not_ give you anything. You shouldn't be so mean to him."

Takeda blinked at Ryu's rant; the boy rarely strung more than two sentences together at once. But Takeda had more pressing matters at hand: "I mean, why me? Hayato would look great in a dress, and Ryu, you're _gorgeous_. Why me and not either of you?"

Ryu found himself flushing at the compliment (or should he feel insulted?), turning his head to stare straight ahead, focused not on the teenage boys lounging around but on the conversation of his friends around him.

"Well Take, you are pretty cute," Tsuchiya shrugged, helping himself to a stick of Pocky.

"Like a plush animal!" Hyuuga proceeded to ruffle Takeda's bleached fluff ball hair, only to have his hands shoved away in anger.

Ryu exhaled, tuning out the continuation of the silly banter. There was still the issue of the mysterious chocolate sender. Ryu had been disappointed to find out that Takeda's suitor hadn't left a card or even a tag with his name, which made it difficult for Ryu to decide who he was going to have to maim. He eyed each of his classmates in turn, mentally checking them against a list if they were taken or unlikely. Masashi was too interested in food to really look at anyone else. Yuichi was always such a girl monger, and Noaya's guitar was his life; if he was to give a present, it would probably be song.

But then he saw Misawa Hiro, the idiot who always wore an overlarge green shirt, glancing back at Takeda. Hiro heaved a sigh, and turned back to his friends, nodding half heartedly as they outlined their plans for the group date. Ryu could definitely identify with the melancholy look on his face, but he wouldn't admit it. Hiro was out of his league with Takeda, even more so than Ryu himself, and that was a comforting thought. Even if Takeda wouldn't receive Ryu's gift, he wouldn't receive Hiro's either.

It wasn't that comforting a thought.

"Hey," Hayato grinned, bumping against Ryu's shoulder, and holding up a cardboard box full of drawing sticks. "Let's lighten the atmosphere! Who wants to go on the date?"

. o . o .

The pretty St. Momo girls sat nervously in the seats across from them in the karaoke room. Ryu, feeling claustrophobic and looking down at his hands clasped on his knee, secretly relished the fact that Maki had been called in to work that evening. Still, his friends were excited about all the other girls, and Ryu sat back with a scoff, watching them make fools of themselves for the female race.

Takeda was particularly cute, clinging to the microphone as the MC for the night; Takeda loved karaoke, and they hadn't done that since before Ryu and Hayato's big fight. And while Ryu felt that his friends and classmates were stupid, falling all over themselves to crowd in the little booth and talk to girls, it was entertaining to see the way Takeda introduced every single one of their classmates. The St. Momo girls squealed and grinned, as girls were prone to, and eventually Hayato got sick of the introductions, grabbing the microphone from Takeda and crowing, "Let's have some fun!"

There was a ruckus of agreement, boys on either side of Ryu jostling him in order to reach the song list, the food, or the girls, and Ryu shrank into his seat with mild distaste. Hayato cranked up the volume, and started singing in a shouty, obnoxious voice.

The next few hours passed in a blur. Ryu sat in his same seat, squashed between Yuichi and Tsuchiya, sipping at his water. Everybody else around him moved; Hyuuga started chatting up the girl across the table from him, Tsuchiya took a turn singing a duet with another girl, and at one point Takeda shoved the song list in his face, practically pleading with him to sing. Ryu would have done it too, if Hayato hadn't started a rousing call and response song, the combined shout of all the people in the karaoke booth threatening to burst his ears.

Takeda joined in with relish, jumping and shouting into his microphone, occasionally grinning like a fool to anyone he made eye contact with. Fortunately, he often looked directly at Ryu, who couldn't keep himself from smiling back. Unfortunately, Takeda was sitting next to Hiro. He had joined in on the shouting, jumping up and down on the booth seat right behind Takeda, occasionally touching Takeda's shoulder in order to steady himself. Takeda didn't mind at all, twisting his body all the way around to flash his megawatt smile at the other boy.

Even though Ryu knew that he was the only one who knew about Hiro's infatuation (damn, his goofy smile would be cute if it wasn't directed at Takeda), a possessive heartache bloomed in his chest. Just for looking at Takeda sideways, Hiro should—

"I saw the head teacher in the bathroom," Tsuchiya gasped into the microphone, effectively ruining the excited mood. "Let's get out of here!"

In the following exodus, the 3D students shoved each other through the door. Someone climbed over Ryu painfully, and Ryu had to double back to grab his school bag. And just when they had managed to get away from the karaoke club, they got caught.

. o . o .

Takeda hated this. It's true they've done things in the past; they dined and ditched before, never with thirty people, and they used to extort money and bicycle rides. But they were reformed, really! Well, he was. And if Tsuchiya was riding a bicycle he'd taken from an underclassmen, well, he couldn't be held responsible. Hazing was pretty much _ritual_.

But keeping them up in the police station until they paid? Ridiculous! The five of them couldn't come up with enough money for the thirty-odd students—and they would have paid if they hadn't needed to run from Sawatari.

Yankumi, the ever devoted teacher, just sighed in exasperation at their antics before she apologized to the officers for the trouble. Truth be told, Takeda was really glad for such a nice teacher; with her there to help them get out of trouble, Takeda and his friends had significantly fewer run ins with the authorities. Then again, with Yankumi around, they had less of a need or an urge to get into trouble, especially after the entire class had sworn not to fight until Yankumi saw them through to graduation.

"You can take your students home now," the police director told her, surprising all of them. "Odagiri-kun's father negotiated with the other party," he explained, and every head in the room turned toward Ryu instinctively. Ryu's eyes flashed, and he set his jaw. Takeda shivered to see the expression.

As Yankumi walked them out of the station, Ryu refused to speak to any of his friends or his teacher, striding ahead to avoid any of their questions and comments. It pained Takeda to see Ryu upset; after the many times Ryu had helped him out and cheered him up (or at least tried to), he could see that Ryu wasn't about to let anyone comfort him now. He wouldn't know what to do if given the chance.

And when Ryu's father came to take him home, Ryu didn't even look back at them.

"I don't get along with that guy," Hayato told Yankumi, voice stony. Takeda thought of how Ryu's entire demeanor changed just by the mention of his father, how Ryu became meek in that man's presence, and Takeda thought that he hated him too.

. o . o .

note: Why Hiro? Because, well, Mizushima Hiro owns my heart, and just my luck to have picked him, because just watch the episode and you'll see that Takeda really does wheel around and give Hiro his megawatt smile! Also, I couldn't refrain from mentioning Nakamura Yuichi; his name is always such a fascination, because of it's similarity to a bandmate of two certain cast members.

Well, this Takeda point of view, I'm debating on keeping. Because the story has already come full circle (something I always admired about the writing of the drama), where Ryu's back to that limbo of not being in school and all that jazz. So, what do guys think? More Takeda, y/n?


	8. Chapter 8

Well, I either suck at writing or I suck at writing Takeda, because this chapter didn't turn out nearly as well as I wanted it to. But hey! I had fun trying to insinuate the change in Takeda's feelings. The opening for the next chapter builds off the last scene here, and it is _gold._

Chapter Summary: Episode 9 part three. In which Ryu runs from home and Takeda starts feeling confused.

* * *

**The Protector**

* * *

Ryu slouched in his seat, book bag in his lap, with his disappointed father seated next to him. He didn't speak. The silence in the car stifled them, only the muffled sounds of car tires falling between father and son.

"So you're still hanging out with _those_ kids," his father said finally, disdain dripping from his words. Ryu pursed his lips and braced himself for a lecture. He had heard this lecture in various forms through the years, ever since his father had discovered that Hayato was a "miscreant" and dirt poor to boot. But Ryu never went against his father head to head. The closest he ever came was entering Kurogin Academy, a school far below his means, with Hayato and Takeda. And even that was an idea Hayato had to put into Ryu's head and convince him to follow through with.

"It's because you don't listen to me," Ryu's father continued in his self-important tone, "trouble like this happens."

Ryu tightened his grip on his book bag, Takeda's chocolate still inside and weighing heavy on his lap.

. o . o .

Of course Takeda was worried. He had never been so worried in his life, except for the time when he really thought Hayato and Ryu would kill each other. Takeda stayed up that night, waiting for a safe time to call.

Hayato must feel bad, Takeda reasoned, because more than half the trouble Ryu ever got in was because he fell in with Hayato. Ryu and Hayato may have picked on Takeda when they were younger, but Takeda knew them long enough to know that Hayato was the one with the temper and the mischief. Ryu was just the lonely rich boy attracted to the carelessness that Hayato wielded so freely.

It was almost midnight when he decided to call. Sitting cross-legged in bed, Takeda worriedly hit the redial button whenever Ryu didn't pick up. His third call went straight to voicemail.

. o . o .

Ryu didn't come to school after that. Takeda, Hayato, Hyuuga, and Tsuchiya sat in their seats, subdued, and the entire class followed suit. Even the desk in front of them that Ryu used yesterday sat empty, until Hiro trudged in and took the seat. Takeda found himself irrationally annoyed.

"Yankumi!" Takeda and his friends called in unison when the teacher walked in through the door. He wanted to ask about Ryu, but stopped when he saw the fallen look on her face.

"Odagiri-kun," Yankumi said, "is not coming back to school."

"What do you mean by that?" Hayato asked sharply.

"Don't tell me it's because of yesterday," Takeda begged. He knew the truth though. This incidence would be the straw to break the camel's back, and if Ryu's dad got his way. . .

"Hayato," Takeda asked, "what do we do?"

Hayato frowned deeply in thought, glancing at Takeda with something deeper in his eyes that Takeda didn't understand. Takeda could feel panic grip his heart. Hayato wasn't all knowing after all, and if Ryu was being holed up like Tsuchiya theorized (which would make _total_ sense) then—

"We'll come up with something," Hayato assured him with a weak smile and a clap on his shoulder.

. o . o .

There were times when Takeda hated being short. For example, when he was forced to hop up and down just to see over the wall outside of Ryu's house. "Take, go!" Hayato signaled, and he jumped over the wall first.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Takeda knew that Hayato's break out plan was headstrong and stupid, but he could see no better alternative. To be honest, Takeda simply couldn't bear the thought of Ryu's stony, unhappy face, the one that he saw last time as Ryu left with his dad. That's why Takeda was doing this, because he knew Ryu would be happy just to see him.

_All of us_, Takeda corrected mentally. _Ryu will be happy to see all his friends, not just me._

Tsuchiya threw the pebbles at Ryu's balcony door, and the four of them waited. And waited. For a few minutes actually. "Do it again, Tsuchi. He's taking too long, considering his bedroom is like, one meter," Hayato whispered.

The irrational annoyance surged up again deep in Takeda's chest. Takeda was confused by the feeling in his heart: So what if Hayato had been in Ryu's house before? Even if Takeda was turned away when he was Ryu's only friend during Ryu's expulsion from school, that wasn't a reason for envy. And it was because of Hayato they knew which window to knock at, after all.

Ryu stepped out onto the balcony, looking down when Hayato called his name. "What are you doing here?" he asked, shocked to see his friends on the pavement below him.

"The Rescue Team is here!" they said, striking a pose. When Ryu seemed more confused than amused, Hayato added, "Forget your dad and come out."

The Ryu's expression looked torn. "But my dad sees you as the enemy," he said. "I can't involve you guys."

Something about the scene, the balcony and the talk of dads and enemies, made Takeda think of that book he looked up one time after Ryu mentioned it. What was it, Romeo and Juliet? That one.

"We're all with you," Takeda promised, a little bit happy when he saw Ryu's lip tremble.

"Let's go," said Hayato. Moments later, Ryu had grabbed his jacket and jumped out the window, his smile full of uncertainty. Takeda grinned back. Until the shouts of security guards shattered the moment.

. o . o .

Listening to Ryu's dad talk about how sure he was that Ryu would see his side of things, about what trash he and Hayato and the others were. . . Takeda started to hate the man even more. And the superintendent going so far as to announce expulsion as their punishment. . .

Which Takeda was fine with, as long as Ryu was away from that monster's grasp. Even if they were expelled, they could still help Ryu, they could still be friends. They could still be happy.

After they were dismissed from the school that night, Yankumi said to them, "Stay out of trouble. Don't worry, I'll find Ryu."

But they couldn't sit idly by either, so the four of them went searching too. And found Ryu just in time for Yankumi to save him.

. o . o .

Takeda gently cleaned the wound on Ryu's face. "Sorry about that," he said when Ryu flinched away. Ryu looked ashamed, ducking his head so that Takeda couldn't see his eyes. Takeda felt a little bit helpless, watching his friend's hunched form.

"Are you okay?" Tsuchiya asked, but Ryu ignored the question.

"How did it go with you?" he said instead. When no one answered, Yankumi quickly deflected the question. But the truth was obvious.

"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble," he said to them, standing to leave. Takeda panicked, as did the others, and tried to call him back. He didn't regret getting in trouble for Ryu; he never would.

"Why do you keep things bottled up?" Yankumi asked, cold and harsh. Ryu stopped at the door. "Why don't you tell us what's on your mind?"

Even though Takeda wanted to hear the answer too, there was something about Ryu's expression when he turned and said, "I don't know either." It hurt Takeda's heart.

. o . o .

Hayato lead the others to a yakuza house the next morning. "What's the Oedo family?" Tsuchiya questioned.

"I thought we were going to Yankumi's place," Takeda said, looking up at the creepy house.

"This place looks dangerous," Hyuuga added.

Then Hayato told them, "This is Yamaguchi's house."

And, okay, so the whole yakuza thing was weird. Weirder yet was kneeling on tatami mats and talking with Ryu in the presence of demon masks and actual swords.

"I'm sorry for getting you involved," Ryu apologized sincerely.

"Don't let that worry you," Takeda insisted.

"We were the ones who did something useless," Hayato admitted, and Ryu smiled just a little bit.

. o . o .

Takeda hated Ryu's father even more, barging into Yankumi's house like he owned the place. The boys hid behind a paper door, looking through a glass panel in the center to watch Ryu's father talk with Yankumi. They were crowded together, so close that Takeda could even feel Ryu's anxious heartbeat.

When his father crossed a line, Ryu pushed past Takeda and the others. He bowed deep and low and begged his father to let the others go. Typically Ryu, Takeda thought, taking all the blame and all the trauma. Ryu's stubbornness was the worst part about him. He was too good at hiding how he felt, too good at taking the fall for everyone else. Just like the time he forfeited to Ara High for Takeda. Like he took all the blame for the fight after that.

Takeda was actually afraid for Ryu, he realized. Ryu's dad said he couldn't fail if he followed in his footsteps, but wasn't he failing Ryu right now by taking away his happiness?

But Yankumi intervened. "Listen to him," she scolded Ryu's dad. "His thoughts and wants. Not what you assume he needs." Then she turned to Ryu and asked, "Odagiri, what do you want to do?"

Ryu thought for a long moment, and Takeda could hear his heart stop as he waited. He fell to his knees and bent his head low over the ground. "I want to go to school," he confessed. "I want to graduate with everyone." And Takeda found himself a little bit happy to hear what Ryu was thinking for the very first time.

. o . o .

On the following Monday, Takeda opened up his shoe locker to see a silver gift wrapped present. A late White Day present, he assumed.

When he brought it into the classroom, Hayato practically jumped out of his skin, badgering him about the gift and it's mysterious giver, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. Of course Tsuchiya and Hyuuga teased him too, but neither acted nearly as weird as Hayato did. Luckily, the celebration of Ryu's return to school distracted Hayato and the rest of the class enough for Takeda to slip the gift into his book bag and forget about it for the rest of the day.

Takeda unwrapped the White Day present at home later. Last time he had freaked out about getting a present from a guy, but Ryu's reprimand struck a cord. So Takeda decided that he should give the present a chance. As he unwrapped a RichArt box of chocolates, a paper charm fell to the floor.

He looked at the charm curiously. It seemed familiar, a good luck charm very similar to the ones he got with Ryu and Hayato all those years ago when they first applied to Kurogin. Thinking about this, Takeda ate a piece of his White Day chocolate.


	9. Chapter 9

Okay. A few firsts in a while: First time writing a chapter and updating in less than a month in a good, long while. First out of episode context since chapter 2. First time writing without looking at the word count in a while, resulting in a much longer chapter than my usually strict 1,800 words, which is a good thing, I suspect. This chapter kept getting out of hand when I was writing it. I was dead set on what would happen in this chapter, but as I kept writing... a lot of stuff got added and changed. So the opening scene of gold I promised last update? Nowhere to be found. I'm pretty pleased with the end result though.

Chapter Summary: Takeda gets a clue. Ryu gets fed up.

* * *

**The Protector**

* * *

Takeda slipped on his baseball glove, heading out to the grassier parts of the park where they were going to play catch when Hayato caught up to him. "Are you ready for your big date tonight?" he asked, throwing one arm around Takeda's neck.

"It's just a late White Day date," Takeda protested, squirming under Hayato's arm. "It's not a big deal or anything."

"Not a big deal? Hyuuga and I walked in on your mom fussing over your pinky ring," Tsuchiya chimed in.

"Giving it to Maki-chan to show how serious you are about her," Hyuuga gushed in his silly impression of his mother, "How romantic!"

"And Take's gonna get his first kiss!" Tsuchiya teased, messing Takeda's pinned hair.

"I told you, it's not a big deal!" Takeda exclaimed, flailing his arms as he tried to get out of Hayato's head lock. "Hayato, you can let go of me now."

"No waaay," Hayato grinned. "Our little Take's all grown up and spreading his wings. This means you're the monkey in the middle, okay? Let's play some catch!"

. o . o .

Ryu would miss this, he mused with an inward chuckle as he watched the others tease Takeda into playing Monkey in the Middle. Ryu had opted to lounge on the grass a fair distance away, content to watch his friends fool around. It was one of those lazy afternoons made for fooling around, so Hayato had suggested the park after school let out, despite Yankumi's lecture about studying for final exams that very morning.

Yankumi would kill them if she found out, Ryu decided as the catch game dissolved into Hayato chasing Tsuchiya around the park. Tsuchiya had thrown a particularly foul ball, smacking Hayato in the face rather than Hyuuga's glove, and Hayato was steamed. Hyuuga, ever the mediator, kept trying to get in between the two, but only managed to get involved in a three-way play fight. Takeda, already fed up with never getting the ball, stayed out of their way.

"Hey Ryu. Can I sit with you?"

Ryu shook his head slightly. "Of course you can. Go ahead, Take."

The smaller boy sat down beside Ryu with a ginger grin. Takeda mimicked Ryu's watching, the smile on his lips more visible than on Ryu's. Ryu turned back to the others as well, his heart pounding in his chest.

It had been a day since he left the present in Takeda's locker. After that, he had been keeping a safe distance from Takeda, wondering if the blond had figured him out. Takeda wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box, but he wasn't stupid either. Surely Takeda would work out who his secret admirer was, and Ryu had a feeling that Takeda already knew. He could tell by the hard line of Takeda's back, how he leaned forward apprehensively instead of back onto the grass.

"Ne, Ryu," Takeda said after a long silence. Ryu looked, watching the small changes in Takeda's face. Takeda continued to watch their friends play, his grip tightening on the grass below his fingertips. "Hayato's been acting weird lately."

Ryu deflated when he realized that Takeda wasn't talking about the gift. But of course, Takeda was worried about his friends above all else. And of course Takeda would talk to him about it; Ryu had kind of become Takeda's confidant since that Ara High incident.

It was true, Hayato had been acting oddly. As the date of graduation approached, the boy was steadily becoming more and more clingy, using whatever opportunity he could to clap his hand on a friend's shoulder or to wrestle him to the ground. It seemed rational enough to Ryu, you know, separation anxiety and all that.

"He's been. . . more hyper, I guess, and I didn't think that was possible," Takeda elaborated, looking at Ryu earnestly and making hand gestures now. "He's been more touchy feely too. He's been hugging me more, if you didn't notice," which Ryu had, "and sometimes he looks at me like there's something that he knows that I don't, and I can't even imagine what that is." Ryu swallowed, knowing full well what kind of look Hayato would be giving Takeda. Ryu saw it all the time, when Hayato would just look deeply into Takeda's eye, then look over his shoulder at Ryu and wink with a stupid all-knowing smirk. "And I got another White Day gift yesterday, and from Hayato's expression when he saw it—

"Ryu, I think he _likes_ me."

"What?" Ryu looked quickly at Hayato (busy wrestling his way out of Tsuchiya's grip) and back to Takeda. "I think you've got it wrong."

"No, seriously!" Takeda insisted. "Think about it: he's been super clingy, right? Even though a lot of girls like him, he doesn't have a girlfriend. He gets weird whenever I mention Maki. And the White Day gift came with this good luck charm just like the ones we got when we were applying to Kurogin. Remember the little paper ones? I mean, Hayato leaves it on his desk where he can see it every day."

Ryu exhaled roughly. Against his better judgement, he asked, "And why couldn't it be me?"

Takeda blinked, leaning back on his palms as if trying to see Ryu better. "Because. . . you're Ryu. You're so _cool,_ I never thought of you wanting anyone, let alone a boy. Let alone me. . ." Takeda trailed off. "I mean, it isn't you, right?"

Ryu's temper snapped, and he grabbed Takeda by the collar of his shirt. "Of course it isn't," Ryu snarled, leaning heavily on sarcasm. "It's never me, is it? Never me who worries for you more than anything, never me who willingly outcasts himself on your behalf. I've never stayed up all night to answer your call when you can't sleep or took care of your wounds or cheered your thing with Maki on even when _I_ clearly am the better choice."

Every time Takeda tried to back away or loosen Ryu's grip on his shirt, Ryu pushed forward. The second time, Ryu ended up pushing Takeda back onto the grass, straddling the smaller boy so he could see Takeda eye to eye, the knuckles of his fist digging into Takeda's breast bone. He knew he was hurting Takeda—he felt Takeda's wince in his core—but he wanted Takeda to know this one thing. He _needed_ Takeda to know.

"I'd never do any of that." Ryu dipped his face closer to Takeda's, watching Takeda's eyes as they widened in realization. "And of course I'd never, ever spend weeks picking a silly gift for a holiday, because I'd never want anyone, least of all _you._"

Ryu waited for his blond friend to say something, but Takeda had frozen. Even as frustrated as he was, Ryu couldn't help but admire the boy's small face, framed by the blond hair, with his big eyes wide and cute lips parted in surprise. And those lips. . . Ryu found his eyes lingering before he glanced back up.

Takeda let out a shaky breath, his exhale washing over Ryu's face. Ryu inhaled deeply, savoring this moment—this was the closest he could ever get. After that, Ryu sat up and straightened his back, composing himself as he loosened his grip on Takeda's shirt and smoothed out the wrinkles he'd made.

"Sorry for going off on you Take," he said, standing up and brushing the grass from his knees. "I gotta go. English tutor's going to be waiting at home." He smiled weakly and fled.

. o . o .

Takeda found it hard to breathe. Even though Ryu was no longer crushing his chest, Takeda felt as if his heart remained trapped in a painful grip. How could he have guessed that Ryu felt that way when the boy never showed a sign of his feelings? How could Ryu have expected not to get hurt?

Ryu's confession had taken less than a minute, but with Ryu's face so close, rare emotion raw in his eyes, Takeda had forgotten everything else. He had even forgotten to assure Ryu that—that what? Takeda didn't like Ryu in that way. But the part of him that had not been shocked by Ryu's ferocity had been a little bit happy to see Ryu so emotional. It was the same part of him that had been happy when Ryu said he wanted to graduate with them, when Ryu came to school and befriended them again, when Ryu had let Takeda into his life just a little bit in the first horrible weeks he had been banned from school. The same part of him stopped breathing whenever Ryu smiled.

Hayato and the others approached Takeda moments after Ryu left. "That was some tussle," Tsuchiya commented worriedly.

"What did you say?" Hyuuga asked as he knelt beside Takeda and offered his hand to help the smaller boy stand.

"Nothing," Takeda stated, his eyes sliding to Hayato. "What?" he snapped, irritated at Tsuchiya and Hyuuga's insinuating looks. "I said _nothing._"

"Which is the problem, isn't it," Hayato said. Takeda huffed indignantly, refusing to look in anyone's eyes as Hyuuga helped him stand. "Listen, Take," Hayato said. "I left my laundry with your mom, so I gotta go pick it up. Come on, I'll help you get ready for that date while I'm at it."

. o . o .

Hayato flipped through the pages of that week's Jump magazine as he lounged on Takeda's bed, twirling the bookmark in his fingers. "You're wearing that?" Hayato asked when he glanced up.

"Yeah," Takeda said as he finished buttoning his shirt and smoothed it out. It was the one Ryu let him keep that one time, though after a couple runs through the wash it still smelled of Ryu and Ryu's cologne. It was the only dress shirt he had. "Is there something wrong with it?"

"No, nothing," Hayato said, "Just that you look like a little boy playing dress up is all." Takeda, who had moved on to taming his gnarly dyed hair, threw his hair brush at the cackling teenager. "In all seriousness," Hayato started once he was done laughing and Takeda had returned to fixing his hair, "what are you going to say to Ryu?"

Takeda's fingers stilled in his hair. He turned around to look in Hayato's general direction, but couldn't look him in the eye. "I don't want to hurt him," Takeda said regretfully, "but is there anyway of avoiding that?"

"Telling him the truth is the best you can do," said Hayato. "Don't leave him hanging." He flung charm card he had been using for a bookmark, spinning it with his dart throwing accuracy. It hit Takeda's forehead and fell to the floor, dedication side up. Hayato gathered his laundry basket and left, saluting Takeda with his crooked peace sign as he closed the door.

Takeda glanced down and picked up the paper charm to sit it on his bookshelf next to the other one. In neat script, the charm read, "For Takeda Keita's happiness, good fortune, and graduation." Even though he wasn't sure if he was entirely comfortable with the implication behind it, Takeda still smiled knowing that it was from Ryu.

. o . o .

"You seem distracted," Maki said.

"What? Oh." Takeda grinned sheepishly at Maki, taking his hand from his pocket and offering it to her.

"There you go," Maki laughed, reaching and grasping it. "Where are we going?"

"Just walking," Takeda said. "I wanted to take you somewhere special."

"And you're going to give me my White Day gift, right?" she teased, bumping his shoulder with hers.

"That too," Takeda grinned.

When they reached the neighborhood park, Maki gasped in excitement. "It's been so long since I've been to one of these!" Maki gushed, kicking of her shoes and pulling Takeda across the sandbox. She let go of his hand as she ran to the swing set. Takeda smiled at the girl in a cute dress getting excited over a play yard swing. He had fallen for the tough girl he saw on the bus, but he liked this childish side to her as well.

"I'm glad you like it," Takeda said, sauntering over and gently pushing the swing for her from the front so that he could see her look up at him as she teased.

"Big bad delinquent boys playing in he park?" Maki grinned. "What tough guys."

"Oh, you know you like us tough guys," Takeda shot back.

"But of course," Maki replied, batting her eyes.

A lull in conversation followed, but it was nice. The night was young, the store fronts across the way spilling light into the street. The street lamps shone on them, casting few shadows but giving Maki a soft yellow glow. "Maki-chan," he said, looking into her eyes. "Can I kiss you?"

After a long, heart-pounding moment, she said, "Okay."

Takeda drew a shaky and bent down, taller for once because Maki sat in her swing. He closed his eyes and leaned in slowly, relishing the feel of her breath on his lips. Then their foreheads met with a painful crack.

"Shit," he said, rubbing his aching forehead. "Sorry."

Maki winced as well, standing up from her swing. "Here, let's try again," she said, putting her hands on his neck. Takeda moved the hair from her eyes with a gentle sweep of his hand before leaning in. Her breath on his face reminded him of the rather one-sided fight with Ryu earlier, and he paused before Maki closed the gap.

When their lips touched, it was sweet and sticky with gloss. Absently, Takeda wondered if Ryu would kiss like this. Ryu's lips were thinner than Maki's and wouldn't taste like strawberries like she did. When Maki tilted her head and deepened the kiss, Takeda thought about if Ryu would be as experienced as Maki was at this kissing thing. Not that Takeda would know, because he had no reference. He did like the feel of her lips, though, moving soft and supple against his—

Maki pulled away abruptly. "Takeda-kun, what's up? You've been thinking about something else all night."

"Uh, nothing," Takeda stammered. At Maki's narrowed eyes, he corrected himself. "My friend Ryu has been having some home problems lately, and—"

"While we kiss?" Maki asked, voice rising in irritation.

Takeda staggered back, wide eyed. She was right; something was wrong with him if he was on a great date with the girl of his dreams and couldn't stop thinking about Ryu, and not just when they kissed. "I. . ." He sank into a swing in shock. "I think I might like a boy."

"Oh," Maki murmured, wrapping her arms around Takeda from the side. "Takeda-kun. It's okay."

"You're not upset?" Takeda asked, surprised.

"Of course not. It's not as if we're really serious, is it?" she responded. Takeda chuckled darkly when he thought of his reason for setting this date in the first place. "It's a shame though," Maki continued. "I was just starting to fall for you. At least I know that you really liked me when this started. After what you did for me back then, we can still be great friends, right?"

Takeda blew out a deep breath. He wanted to laugh really hard at the irony of the situation. He wanted to cry. "Stupid Ryu," he sighed quietly. "Happiness and good fortune my ass."


End file.
